OAN's James Myers
12:12pm – Wednesday, January 3, 2024
The US national debt exceeds $34 trillion for the first time in history.
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The national debt reached $34 trillion as of Friday afternoon, according to the Treasury Department. More than 40 years ago, the national debt was about $900 billion.
“As we begin a new year, the national debt remains as harmful and unsustainable as ever,” said Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which advocates for fiscal sustainability. We are on our way,” he said.
The record debt comes as Congress tries to beat a deadline for new federal funding programs to avoid a government shutdown.
Additionally, the national debt is expected to double over the next 30 years, according to the latest report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Meanwhile, by the end of 2022, the country's debt had ballooned to a staggering 97% of gross domestic product.
At the current pace, this number is expected to increase to 181% by the end of 2053, which would be higher than previous levels.
“Our debt levels are dangerous to both our economy and our national security, yet the United States cannot stop borrowing,” said Maya McGuineas, chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
But Democrats argued Tuesday that the debt is a Republican problem stemming from past debt accumulated by the Trump administration, and that Republicans are responsible for the debt.
“This is trickle-down debt, driven overwhelmingly by repeated Republican contributions that skew toward big business and the wealthy,” Michael Kikukawa, the White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement provided to this newspaper. Ta. FOX business.
An even more surprising study revealed that interest payments are expected to triple from $475 billion in fiscal year 2022 to a whopping $1.4 trillion in 2032. Interest payments are expected to reach $5.4 trillion by 2053.
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